


out like a light

by graveboy



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crying, Cuddling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Like, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, accidentally makes gonta nd coded, couldnt be me, it gets rlly fluffy towards the end tho, kiyo is a good friend/eventual bf, kiyo is kinda awkward but thats ok, me: hey guys watch this, not me projecting onto gonta, vent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27875261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graveboy/pseuds/graveboy
Summary: Gonta messes up and becomes frustrated with himself. Korekiyo is a good listener. They talk it out.aka gonta vents 2 kiyo and realizes he's in love w him
Relationships: Gokuhara Gonta & Shinguji Korekiyo, Gokuhara Gonta/Shinguji Korekiyo
Comments: 7
Kudos: 69





	out like a light

**Author's Note:**

> hello everybody! just wanted 2 start off w a content warning for slight deprecating thoughts from gonta, so if thats not ur cup of tea then go ahead and click off this fic, but if not, then enjoy! :)

Gonta Gokuhara was confused. He leaned into the palm of his hand, scrunching his brows together as he attempted to decipher the words in the book in front of him. Reading wasn't too awful. In fact, Gonta finds it to be very entertaining (though he still prefers comics books over books with no pictures; they always made it easier for him to visualize such vivid and dramatic scenes). Though this was... Difficult.

He glanced at the boy next to him, who flipped through the pages with ease. Gonta watched with amazement, the boy's bandaged fingers brushing against the page. He was none other than Korekiyo Shinguji, Gonta's classmate and beloved friend. Gonta always treated Korekiyo with the greatest amounts of respect, he was a true gentleman, after all. Calm, refined, smart... Just thinking about the anthropologist made Gonta's heart swell with admiration.

He looked so focused, skimming the long paragraphs of the pages in this strange book. Gonta sighs, slouching a bit further, still resting his face in his palm. He wished he was like Korekiyo.

Eventually, Korekiyo glanced at the corner of his eye and noticed the pair of red eyes observing him. "Gonta?" He called out, "Are you alright?"

Gonta snapped out of his trance and flushed bright red. He had been caught. "Oh, um, no," this earned a concerned look from Korekiyo and Gonta mentally face palmed, "Yes! Gonta meant yes. He's okay."

"That's good. Though, I must ask," Korekiyo puts his hand over his book and turns to his left, now facing Gonta. He crosses his legs and looks up at Gonta with those intimidating golden eyes of his, "How come you felt the need to stare? I'm sure you didn't have any ill intent, though I am curious."

Korekiyo chuckles and somehow Gonta blushes even more. It's good to be honest, but staring wasn't very gentemanly of him! Quick, think of something, Gonta!

"W-Well, Gonta was, ah..." His eyes land on Korekiyo's hand (the one that's on the book) and his eyes light up. "He was checking... Which chapter you were on. In the book." He wasn't exactly lying, Korekiyo was far ahead of him by... A lot.

Korekiyo remains silent and Gonta takes this as a sign to continue.

"But you looked so focused and Gonta not wanna interrupt. That would've been ungentlemanly of him! But... Staring's not very gentemanly of Gonta, either. Gonta sorry."

“It’s quite alright. Is there any particular reason why you wanted to check my progress on the book?” Korekiyo asks, tilting his head to the side. Gonta breaks eye contact with Korekiyo to look at his own book. They were both reading the same book, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, for English class. Gonta furrowed his brows as he stared at the text again.

“Gonta’s... Been having trouble.” He utters, his eyes still glued to the book.

Korekiyo stayed silent for a bit, waiting for Gonta to expand on this, though he remained quiet.

“Care to elaborate, Gonta?”

Gonta, eyes never leaving the book, brings his hands to his tie, wringing it around in his hands. “Um... Gonta... not understand. The words, he means.”

Again, Korekiyo stays silent and Gonta wishes that he would say something. Anything, really. But he continues. “They’re all hard to figure out. Gundham talks kinda like this, Gonta knows. But... Gonta finds it easier to listen to him. Though Gonta’s not sure _why_ it’s harder to read like that, he- Gonta not know how to explain b-but... Um...“ Gonta takes a break from talking. He still hasn’t looked at Korekiyo yet. He can’t. 

How can he be in the same room as Korekiyo Shinguji, Ultimate Anthropologist? Someone so smart, so elegant, so handsome-

_Don’t think about that. Not right now, at least._

He felt like... Like a bug compared to him. And as much as Gonta loved bugs, they were oh, so small. Even though they try and try to make a difference, it’s overlooked as “just a thing bugs do”. It’s sad, something he’s so passionate about just being dumbed down to nothing. Gonta, however, couldn’t relate to being dumbed down. He was already dumb enough as it is. It’s like trying to break something that’s already broken. Pointless.

Gonta sighs heavily, straightening his tie. “Don’t... Don’t worry about it. Gonta will fix it, it’s fine. He’ll... Do it himself.” His voice turned shaky at the end of his sentence. Gonta mentally curses at himself as the familiar lump in his throat forms and his eyes begin to water. He can’t cry, no, not in front of Korekiyo. Gonta closes his eyes, he’s already made a fool of himself. He wants to run away, far away from the masked man and hide. Not from him, not from such a wonderful man as him, but from... Something deeper. 

Gonta has no time to think of such foreign feelings. He was already thinking too much as it is.

Finally, a smooth voice speaks to him, concerned. “Gonta? Can you look at me, please?”

Gonta freezes. It’s Korekiyo. He’s never heard him take on such a gentle tone, let alone say please to anyone. So, as requested, he looks at Korekiyo and for someone with such an abnormally tall stature, god, he felt so small. It was terrifying.

Of course, Korekiyo would never do anything to hurt Gonta. They were way too close to even consider a thing. But something- some annoying voice at the back of Gonta’s mind told him otherwise. That he’d call him an idiot, a simpleton who doesn’t deserve to waste anymore of his precious time. Gonta had definitely heard worse, but hearing it from Korekiyo was about the worst thought he could imagine right now.The thought made him want to cry.

So he did.

He let out some tears that quickly became sobs, his arms tightly wrapped around himself. He wanted to cling onto something- more specifically _someone_ -but he knew how Korekiyo was with touch. And Gonta knew he had to ask first. He wanted to and he almost did, though when he opened his mouth all that came out was a pitiful sob.

Gonta looked away from Korekiyo; he hadn’t even seen his reaction yet. He was probably surprised, no scratch that, he was probably _disgusted_.

Gonta hangs his head in shame, letting his thick strands of hair cover his face like a curtain.

Korekiyo’s not saying anything, what if... What if he’s observing him? He could be taking notes, enjoying this, Korekiyo did say that he found the ugliest parts of humanity beautiful, and did Gonta certainly feel ugly.

Gonta didn’t have time to tell himself otherwise until he felt Korekiyo’s arms. Well, not exactly. It was more like... Feeling the presence of his arms rather than actually feeling them. He’s hesitating.

Was he so repulsed that he didn’t want to lay a finger on Gonta? Or...

Was he scared of him?

Gonta shut his eyes tightly, letting out another sob.

He knew he looked scary to others, with his tall stature and his broad chest. He didn’t mean to scare others off, he was truly a gentle soul. And, even though Korekiyo was a calm and collected man who always keeps his composure, he didn’t want to scare him. Unintentionally or not.

He never wanted to make him flinch or make his eyes widen in fear. He never wanted to see him shake or stumble because of him.

He wanted to protect him. He wanted to see him safe. He wanted to see him as happy as possible. Because it’s what he deserves.

But how in the world could he possibly do that if Gonta couldn’t even read this dumb...

No, it’s not dumb. It’s a smart book. For smart people. Like Korekiyo.

Korekiyo Shinguji, who is elegant and refined.

Korekiyo Shinguji, who doesn’t overreact and keeps his emotions in check.

Korekiyo Shinguji, who is smart enough to read Romeo and Juliet front to back, three times, without stuttering or making a fool of himself.

Korekiyo Shinguji... Who speaks up, causing Gonta to stop thinking for a moment.

Gonta raises his head and looks at Korekiyo through his blurry lenses. They’re all dirty from him crying but he can worry about that later. 

“Huh..?” Gonta says, rather dumbly in his opinion. He hadn’t heard what Korekiyo said, either because he was too quiet or Gonta was too loud, he wasn’t sure. 

Korekiyo speaks up again, more clear and precise then before. 

“Is it alright if I can touch you?”

Gonta stares at the anthropologist, blinking a couple of times while trying to register what he said.

“I heard that touching can be useful during acts of comfort and since you’re a very affectionate person I figured...”

Gonta didn’t need to hear anymore. He instantly wrapped his arms around Korekiyo, burying his head in his chest. 

Korekiyo widened his eyes and raised his arms a bit in surprise until relaxing into the touch. He put one bandaged hand on Gonta’s back and the other on his hair, stroking it gently.

“I’m not the best at comforting people.” Korekiyo admits. “In all honesty, I’ve never done it before. But I want to make you feel as safe as you make me. And if I can succeed at that, then... Well, I think that would make me very happy.” 

No one’s ever said anything like that to him before. Gonta let out another sob.

“Gonta... He’s s-sorry, he’s gonna... Ruin your... He didn’t mean to...” He tries to say in between sobs.

Korekiyo continues to stroke Gonta’s hair, brushing it out with his fingers. “Shh, shh, it’s alright.” He murmurs softly, “You mustn’t attempt to talk in this state, try to calm down first, alright? Regulate your breathing and try again.”

It takes a while, but Gonta’s crying eventually dies down, only being reduced to small sniffles and brief tears. His eyes are lidded and his hold on Korekiyo relaxes. He feels tired.

Korekiyo plays with his hair for a bit, seemingly infatuated with it. 

“Gonta,” He starts clearing his throat, “What Gonta was trying to say earlier was... He was afraid that he’d ruin your uniform. Gonta’s sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize, Gonta. I can always wash my uniform later today. I,” Korekiyo stops himself, looking at the clock on Gonta’s nightstand, “Oh dear, it’s late.” He simply states.

Gonta takes a look for himself and squints, his glasses more dirty than before. From what he can tell, it’s past ten o’clock. Gonta is surprised to say the least, he cried for that long? How embarrassing.

Gonta sits up in his seat, missing Korekiyo’s warmth, and looks at the book. He furrows his brows at it. He shouldn’t have wasted his time. He could’ve been more productive. But no, he had to cry on his best friend for three hours.

Gonta sighs, looking away from the book.

”Gonta’s never gonna get this done... It’s too hard...” He looks back at the book, “But... He can try again. He’ll get it done tonight and-“

“No.” 

Gonta blinks for a moment, confused. “What?”

“No.” Korekiyo repeats again. “It would be best not to push yourself like this, Gonta.”

“But, Kiyotaka, he... He always says if we don’t succeed, try again. So Gonta’s gotta try again, right..?”

Korekiyo looks back at his own belongings before tidying up. 

“Well, that advice depends on the circumstances of the situation you’re in.” He says, taking his notes and putting them in his binder. “If you fail a test and have the opportunity to retake it, then yes, you try again.”

Korekiyo takes a bookmark from his bag and marks his place in the book. “However, it shouldn’t apply right now.” He closes the book and looks at Gonta. “You’re exhausted. I can tell. And even if you weren’t, I doubt that anyone, myself included, could read Shakespeare in one night. We can finish it tomorrow. Besides, I think both of us could use a break.”

Gonta nods, closing his book (he’ll find his page later) and putting it in his book bag, “Okay.”

Gonta feels a pair of eyes on him as he closes his bag. He looks up and makes eye contact with Korekiyo, who looks away in embarrassment.

“I apologize, I noticed your glasses...Well, I...” Korekiyo quickly composes himself by clearing his throat and continues, “Let’s get you cleaned up. If that’s alright with you?”

Gonta nods again and grimaces. He must look like a mess right now.

Korekiyo stands up and pushes his chair in underneath the desk. He walks to the bathroom door only to pause and look back at Gonta, who is still seated.

“Oh, may I..?”

It takes Gonta a minute to understand what he means. He stands up (a little too fast, which causes him to stumble, but he catches himself and regains his balance) and replies, “Yes! Yes, you may.”

Korekiyo opens the door and walks inside, motioning Gonta to come in with him. He follows reluctantly, not sure what Korekiyo needs. Why would he want both of them in the bathroom together..?

Gonta steps inside and Korekiyo closes the door behind him. He points to the toilet, “Can you sit down for me?”

Gonta does as he’s told, a bit confused by the request, but complies anyway.

Korekiyo looks around for a moment and pulls out something from his pocket. “Here.” Korekiyo puts it in Gonta’s hand, the latter looks down to find that it’s a black hair tie.

“Can you pull your hair back? I don’t think you’d want it getting wet. I hope that tie will suffice...” Korekiyo mumbles the last part and asks, “Where do you keep your washcloths?”

“Under the sink,” Gonta replies. He holds his hair in place with one hand and, with the other, he puts it in a low ponytail.

Korekiyo opens the cabinet and pulls two washcloths out, placing them on the counter. He closes the cabinet, taking the first one in his hand before pausing. He furrows his brow, and puts the washcloth down.

“Kiyo?” 

Korekiyo rolls up his sleeves and starts unravelling his bandages. Gonta looks away, staring at the ground.

Korekiyo takes notice of this and continues with his bandages. “You can look, Gonta. I don’t mind.”

Gonta looks at Korekiyo, more at his face then his arms. He wears that same relaxed yet concentrated look as did while he was reading. Eyebrows furrowed, completely focused. Korekiyo made this face a lot when he was doing something important and Gonta found himself starstruck every time. 

“What’s Kiyo gonna do with the washcloth?” Gonta asks, taking a quick look at the counter before going back to Korekiyo. His bandages are off now. Gonta pays it no mind. 

“Just a moment,” Korekiyo turns on the faucet, “Do you prefer hot, cold, or warm water?”

“Warm.” Gonta answers.

“I thought so,” Korekiyo says, smiling a bit under his mask, “Anyways, I’m going to clean your face. Again, you don’t mind do you?”

Gonta blinks for a moment. Then again. And then it clicks.

“Oh! So that’s why you wanted Gonta in the bathroom!” He exclaims, a little too loudly.

Korekiyo chuckles a bit before laughing, “I apologize, did I not make myself clear?”

Gonta blushes and smiles a bit, “No, no, Kiyo was probably really clear! Gonta was just unsure, he not know why he didn’t ask you earlier.” It wasn’t long before Gonta started to laugh too, “That’s... Is that what you would call a “late reaction”?”

Korekiyo laughs again, putting the washcloth underneath the faucet. “Yes, that was quite the late reaction.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Gonta asks.

“No, well, not in this case.” Korekiyo says, turning of the faucet and wringing out the washcloth. “Many people consider late reactions to be humorous, like in this instance, for example.”

“That reminds Gonta of something that happened, um, was it yesterday?” Gonta thinks for a moment and shakes his head, “No, it was Wednesday.”

Korekiyo kneels in front of Gonta, looking up at him, “Care to tell me about it?”

“Yes. Wait, no, Gonta means no.” He giggles to himself, “Sorry, sometimes Gonta has to remind himself about answering questions with “I don’t care” in them, it’s a bit confusing. Because Gonta does care, he’d love to tell Kiyo about it, but that’s seen as negative? English is... Strange.”

“It’s a very complex language, yes. You’re doing very well, though.”

“Really?”

Korekiyo nods, “Mhm. You’re a fast learner. I admire that.”

Gonta smiles, “Thank you, Gonta- Wait, should Gonta take off his glasses?”

“That would be preferred, yes.”

Gonta takes off his glasses and furrows his brows at how dirty they are. He'll clean them later. He puts them down on the counter and looks back at Korekiyo, who is probably smiling? Gonta couldn't tell, his eyesight really was awful.

Korekiyo pushes Gonta's bangs out of the way and Gonta squints, trying to make out his expression. The anthropologist chuckles again, "As you were saying before?"

"Oh, that's right, Gonta not even start!" Gonta realizes, blushing at how close Korekiyo was. "Okay, so it was lunch time and Gonta was sitting next to Kiibo and Miu. Kokichi sat across from Gonta, next to Maki and Kaito, he was in between them..."

Gonta continued to ramble on about his story, pausing every now and then to remember a few details he left out. Korekiyo listened the whole time, smiling gleefully under his mask. He quickly got started, holding Gonta's bangs back with one hand and tilting his head to the side with the other, catching Gonta off guard.

"And then he- Huh?"

"Observing," Korekiyo simply states, taking the washcloth and wiping it on Gonta's face. "You can continue."

Gonta stays still for a moment and becomes relaxed under Korekiyo's touch. He laughs for a moment, "That's warmer than Gonta thought it would be! But... Gonta will continue later."

"Are you sure?" Korekiyo asks, tilting Gonta's head to the other side and continuing to wipe his face, "Perhaps we can stop for a moment?"

"Gonta's sure. He'd get distracted too much, Kiyo probably wouldn't like that."

Korekiyo grazes the washcloth over Gonta's forehead. "What makes you say that?"

Gonta stops and blushes in embarrassment.

"Gonta didn't mean anything bad by it! It's just... Kiyo tells stories all the time right? You're good at storytelling but Gonta... Isn't. He just thought... It wouldn't be very good to hear Gonta stumble on his words so much."

Korekiyo stays silent, concentrated on wiping Gonta's face one more time. "I disagree. I like hearing you talk, even when you stutter or forget your words, I don't find a problem with it. I find it to be endearing, especially when you tell me about all of the different bugs you like. You're so happy whenever you talk about them, just listening to you makes me smile."

Korekiyo tilts Gonta's head back in place, now holding his chin.

"You really mean it?"

Korekiyo smiles, "Every word."

Gonta felt his heart beat quicken as Korekiyo leans into him, angling his head slightly to the side. He flushed. Are they really going to..?

Oh goodness, Gonta definitely better not mess up! He closes his eyes, leaning in as well. This is the moment, Gonta can feel it!

Their lips finally touch and..! Wait a minute. Those don't really _feel_ like lips... Is that..?

Gonta opens his eyes, a bit confused, until he sees the problem; Korekiyo forgot to take off his mask.

Gonta laughs a bit, nudging Korekiyo's shoulder with his hand. Korekiyo opens his eyes and furrows his brows. He attempts to feel his lips with his hand and blushes at his mistake, simply stating, "Oh."

At that moment, Gonta bursts with laughter and, somehow, Korekiyo managed to blush even more. He turns away and covers his mouth, immediately feeling the heat of his blush through his mask.

“Oh.” Korekiyo says again, finally processing the situation. “Oh my.”

Gonta looks at Korekiyo, his eyes crinkled because of his smile. Korekiyo is now facing towards Gonta, his face blood red. 

He starts to smile as well and he laughs with Gonta. “My slip up wasn’t that funny, was it?”

“No, it was hilarious!” Gonta replies, giggling again. 

Korekiyo sighs with a smile, “Should we try again..?”

Gonta’s laughter dies down and he thinks for a moment, putting his face in his palm. He scrunches his brows together and widens them when he feels his face. 

“No! Well, not right now, Gonta means. He thinks it would be nice to kiss you, but... His face is still wet and... Gonta don’t think Korekiyo would wanna kiss anyone with a wet face.”

That being said, Korekiyo smiles, grabbing the dry washcloth and gently dabbing it over Gonta’s face. 

At that point, Gonta couldn’t stop grinning, and it didn’t take long for Korekiyo to notice. “What are you smiling at, hm?”

“You.” Gonta answers. “Kiyo’s been very nice to Gonta tonight. Not that he isn’t nice to Gonta any other night or day, it’s just... You made Gonta feel better, a lot more than he was before and... That makes him really happy.”

“I’m glad, then.”

Korekiyo finishes drying off Gonta’s face and stands up, stretching his lanky limbs and putting both of the washcloths on the empty towel rack next to the sink. He eyes Gonta’s glasses for a moment before handing them to him, to which Gonta gladly accepts, quickly cleaning off the lenses and putting them on.

He walks out of the door and Gonta joins him, yawning and turning off the bathroom light and closing the door behind him.

He rubs his eyes, stretching his back and groaning when he felt his joints pop. Gonta looks at the clock on his nightstand again, which read... Eleven o’clock? 

“It’s late.” Korekiyo observes, yet again, “I suppose that’s my time to leave. Goodnight, Gonta.” He gathers his things, and goes to open the door.

“Wait!” Gonta says, causing Korekiyo to stop in his tracks, letting out a small “hm?”. 

The entomologist mentally scolds himself. He hoped that this wasn’t too much to ask, but saying it out loud might sound strange. He might as well ask now.

“Um... Gonta was just wondering... Can Kiyo stay? Please?”

“You want me to stay with you for tonight?”

“If it’s okay with Kiyo, of course!”

Korekiyo thinks for a moment and puts down his bag, “I don’t see why not. It is Friday, after all, so I suppose I can stay.”

Gonta smiles and runs up to Korekiyo, giving him a big hug that sweeps him off his feet. And also happens to knock his hat right off his head.

“Oh- Oh Gonta, my hat!” Korekiyo exclaims, giggling. It’s not long after Gonta joins him, laughing like there isn’t a care in the world. “Well, I suppose we can get it later, I,” Korekiyo takes a break from speaking to catch his breath, “We laughed a lot this evening.”

Gonta tilts his head to the side (Almost like a puppy, Korekiyo observes. How cute.), still holding Korekiyo. “Laughing’s good, though! Gonta likes hearing you laugh, Kiyo! It makes him feel all warm inside!”

Korekiyo blushes. “Oh, Gonta,” He pulls down his mask, revealing a perfect smile, “You’re sweet.”

Gonta had seen Korekiyo’s face plenty of times before, the anthropologist trusted him enough to let him see his face while the two were alone. And Gonta was just as flustered as he was the first time he saw him without it.

Though what Gonta didn’t expect was for Korekiyo to cup his face with his lithe hands, stroking his freckled face with his thumb. Gonta flushes bright red, not knowing what to say.

Korekiyo closes his eyes, leaning into Gonta. Gonta closes his eyes too, and just like that, their lips touched.

Korekiyo’s lips were soft, which didn’t surprise Gonta one bit, the anthropologist always did take great care of himself. His lips were warm and pretty, being under his touch almost made Gonta melt.

The kiss ended just as fast as it had started. Despite how short it was, Gonta couldn’t have felt happier.

"Kiyo, that was great!" Gonta smiles, squeezing Korekiyo tighter.

"Ah... I feel the same, dear... You were wonderful..!" Korekiyo says, straining a bit because of Gonta's grasp, "Can you put me down, Gonta?"

Gonta's mouth formed a small "o" as he nods, gently putting Korekiyo on the bed and sitting next to him.

Gonta sits on the bed and twiddles his thumbs, blushing whenever Korekiyo came closer to him. He gives the entomologist a sly but warm smile, leaning in close enough to make Gonta even more flustered. "I take it that you enjoyed it, yes?"

Gonta nods again, barely containing his excitement. "Yes, Gonta loved it!" He thought for a moment, blushing a little more, "Um... Can Gonta have another one, please?"

Korekiyo's smile only widened and his heart beat even faster as he held onto Gonta's hand. "Of course, darling."

They kissed again, but this time it was less clumsy and, somehow, more tender than before. Gonta smiled into the kiss and, as he did, he hoped that this moment would last forever.

And it did.

**Author's Note:**

> HOO BOY that was long. i feel pretty proud of how i wrote the dialogue but im afraid that it feels kinda rushed at the end!! I wanted to hurry and get this fic posted before it expired tomorrow bc I started writing it in December and then. I procrastinated. but yea!!! if u read through this I just wanted to tell you to have a great week and ur cool!!


End file.
